• In the last few weeks there have been various attacks on the AFC and Archive activities in the media, originating from a media release issued by the stakeholder group, the Archive Forum. In response, senior management at the Archive have released an open letter that you can read online. Letters of support for the AFC have also been released to the media by the Australian Screen Directors Association (ASDA), Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA), the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Australian Writers' Guild.


• This issue also sees the first in a series of articles on making low-budget features, including interviews with Rolf de Heer on low-budget feature filmmaking and Vincent Monton on the possibilities offered by going digital, advice from Jane Corden on how can you fund, produce and distribute a film for under a million dollars, and an article from the New York Times on the Dogme school of filmmaking. AFTRS is holding a workshop in Melbourne on Saturday 11 September to give producers and directors insight into how three experienced teams structured and produced their low-budget films. The deadline for the AFC's new low-budget feature development program is Friday 1 October.


• Surviving footage from Australia's first-ever feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), has been selected by UNESCO to be added to the Memory of the World Register, established in 1992 to protect and promote the world's most significant documentary heritage.


• Mick Newnham, Senior Researcher in the Preservation and Technical Services Branch at the Archive, describes a training project on film and audiovisual preservation he conducted in Laos in April.


• Senator the Hon Helen Coonan was appointed as the new Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts in July. Read her biography.

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• AFC funding approvals.


• AFC funding deadlines.


• A new funding program introduced in July, Strand F - Low-Budget Feature Development, supports the development of low-budget features across all genres. The program includes a workshop where filmmakers explore the creative and practical issues for low-budget scripts. Deadline Friday 1 October.


• Following the success of last year's inaugural OLSBERG|SPI Enterprise Australia program, it was recently announced that a subsequent workshop, ENTERPRISE TASMAN, will be held near Sydney in November. The workshop covers business strategies for the independent producer.


• Fifteen Indigenous filmmakers, visual artists, animators and web designers from around the country will soon participate in an intensive two-week immersive workshop that will develop their skills in digital and interactive media. The biennial Indigenous New Media Lab, to be held in Brisbane for the first time, is the inspiration of the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT), which has developed and run the Lab in Darwin and Adelaide in previous years.

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• The AFC released its annual National Survey of Feature Film and TV Drama Production in early August. The survey showed that total expenditure across Australia on all feature film and television drama production increased by 15 per cent from $513 million in 2002/03 to $588 million in 2003/04. However, this result was due to an increase in expenditure by foreign features shooting in Australia, along with the production this year of the high-budget Australian feature Happy Feet. Without Happy Feet - a US studio-financed animated feature - the value of local feature film production would have been similar to 2002/03's eight-year low of $49 million. Read the full survey.


• The AFC will soon release an important new data publication. Australia's Audiovisual Markets is the first in a new Get the Picture series highlighting key data and trends in Australia's cinema, video, TV and interactive media industries and introducing the comprehensive statistics available through Get the Picture Online. Available free from AFC offices or the AFC website from mid September.


• The 2004 publication with the theme 'Women Towards Leadership' will be launched on Monday 18 October at the annual Women Working in Television cocktail party at The Wharf Restaurant in Sydney. The guest speaker will be Sue Masters (Head of Drama, Network Ten) who also provided the key case study in the publication.


• The Satchel: Production Budgeting + Film Management was a joint venture between the AFC and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. It was initially published in the early 1990s, with a couple of updates in subsequent years. Due to rapid changes in technological processes in filmmaking (particularly in post-production), and changes to the AFC's A-Z Budget format, the Satchel is now out of date, and an update is being co-ordinated by the AFC. The update is expected to be launched in late 2005. Until then, the AFC is making copies available at a discounted rate of $99 (including GST), with the AFC covering the cost of postage. The previous price was $162.50. Email publishing@afc.gov.au for an order form and further information.


• The Information for Filmmakers FAQ was updated in August. You can read the HTML version or download the PDF online, or contact publishing@afc.gov.au for a hard copy.

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• On Wednesday 3 August the Canberra Files screening was held at Parliament House theatre. The event consisted of a 55-minute presentation of Archive material on politics and the media produced by filmmakers Julian Russell, Ron Saunders and Archive staff. Lisa Chappell (McLeod's Daughters and Michael Caton (The Castle) narrated the screening. About 250 people saw the presentation, including Mrs Heather Henderson - daughter of Sir Robert Menzies - who approved the extensive use of Menzies' home movies.


• Brisbane was treated to a gala screening of the reconstructed The Sentimental Bloke on Friday 6 August as part of the Brisbane International Film Festival. The Bloke screened to a crowd of 1500 people. The sold-out screening was introduced by AFC Chair Maureen Barron, the Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, acting Director of the Archive Pam Saunders and - on behalf of Minister Rod Kemp - the Hon Gary Hardgrave, Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The screening was an enormous success, Jen Anderson's music evocative and the crowd highly appreciative of the event.


• The Bloke will screen in Melbourne at the RMIT Capitol Theatre on Tuesday 26 October as part of a two-week screen culture event - Melbourne on Screen - co-ordinated by Film Victoria. The event also includes the Australian Writers' Guild Conference and Awards (AWGIES), a new media conference X|Media|Lab, and free public screenings of film and television programs featuring Melbourne. It concludes with the AFI Awards on Friday 29 October. This is a perfect partnership for the screening, reflecting the past as well as the present and future of the screen industry in Victoria, and a celebration of excellence in the industry. The Canberra screening has been postponed due to the election and a Tasmanian screening will be announced in coming months.


• The newly appointed Big Screen team has been busy delivering three film festivals over three consecutive weeks: Bathurst NSW (23-25 July), Yeppoon Qld (30 July-1 August) and Malanda Qld (6-8 August). Bathurst was very successful for a first-time tour, with audiences enjoying the Archive programming. Those who attended the silent classic The Sentimental Bloke were particularly impressed by both the beauty of the film and the live accompaniment. The Yeppoon community took a very proactive approach to the event by staging an open-air screening of the family favourite The Real Macaw and the 70s surf cult movie Morning of the Earth, with audience numbers reaching close to 2,000. Audience attendances in Malanda were particularly high this year, with guest actor Dan Spielman presenting films he has starred in - One Perfect Day and an advance preview of Tom White. Big Screen heads off to Hervey Bay and the Gold Coast (Qld), Carnarvon (WA) and Alice Springs (NT) in September.


• The Embassy Roadshow is a travelling film festival that showcases a selection of contemporary Australian films through Australian embassies. It is an initiative of the Australia International Cultural Council, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the AFC. July saw the roadshow taking part in an Indigenous-themed multi-arts event in Mexico City and a return season to Seoul in South Korea. The Seoul screening saw a doubling of the previous total audience; trumping a similarly timed French film festival. Korean audiences received the films very positively and the festival itself attracted substantial media coverage including television news crews. August events included Kathmandu, Nepal, and Pretoria, South Africa.


• The short feature Queen of Hearts (w/d: Danielle Maclean, p: Charlotte Seymour) has been nominated for an AFI Award for Best Script. The film was one of the 50-minute dramas produced under the 'Fifty/Fifty' Indigenous drama initiative. AFC-funded films have done particularly well this year. Find out all the AFI Award nominations.


• The AFC congratulates the Australian films that screened at the 2004 Melbourne and Brisbane international film festivals. The following AFC-funded projects won awards at the Melbourne festival: Best Australian Short Film - My Sister (d: Yen Ooi); Emerging Australian Filmmaker - Mr Patterns (jointly awarded to d: Catriona McKenzie, p: Nic Testoni and Jo Plomley); and Creative Excellence in an Australian Short Film - We Have Decided Not to Die (d: Daniel Askill).


• Five Australian feature films - Human Touch, Peaches, Tom White, A Man's Gotta Do and One Perfect Day - have been selected to screen at the Montreal World Film Festival, 26 August - 6 September.


• Clara Law's documentary, Letters to Ali, has been selected to screen at the Venice International Film Festival, 1-11 September.


• The Australian features Somersault, Letters to Ali, Human Touch and The Oyster Farmer have been selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, 9-18 September.


• FLiCKERFEST International Short Film Festival has announced its call for entries. Deadline Friday 24 September.


• The prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), 18-28 November, is calling for documentary submissions. Visit the Festival Profile for details of previous films screened and tips from filmmakers who have attended in the past. Deadline Wednesday 1 September.
• September deadlines are coming up for the Sundance, Transmediale Berlin, Stuttgart Filmwinter, Stockholm, Hof and Gijon film festivals. See Festival Profiles for more information.

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• The annual Women Working in Television Breakfast was held on Monday 9 August as part of the SPAA Conference on the Gold Coast. The theme was 'Doing Leadership Differently'. Director, Film Development, Carole Sklan welcomed guests at the breakfast, which was hosted by Trish Lake (p: Gettin' Square) - SPAA 2004 feature film producer of the year. The speakers Corallie Ferguson (General Manager, Seven Queensland), Amanda Higgs (Producer, Southern Star), Mary Jane Skalski (US producer) and Kim Vecera (Head of Production and Drama, Foxtel) highlighted the importance of instinct, teamwork, common sense and communication to leadership in television. The breakfast was sold out, with over 100 women attending.


• The AFC Marketing Unit initiative INSIDE TRACK was held for the first time during the recent SPAAmart feature finance market on the Gold Coast, 7-9 August. For the second year, the AFC was the major sponsor of SPAAmart, providing funding for the international travel of visiting executives. INSIDE TRACK offered opportunities for a group of promising feature producers to meet international and local executives and gather market intelligence.


• For the third consecutive year the AFC was a major sponsor in the opening night Australia On Show of the Australian International Movie Convention along with naming rights sponsor The Sydney Morning Herald/The Sun Herald. Australia On Show heralds the upcoming Australian features scheduled for a theatrical release in the next 12 months. This year, 15 features were highlighted in a compilation of scenes from each film.


• AFC Project Manager Lori Flekser recently attended the SPAA Fringe conference in Brisbane, a must-see event for emerging producers.

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• Read an update on the Review of ScreenSound Australia, the National Screen and Sound Archive, Programs and other activities and highlights at the Archive


• The Archive actively seeks out accompanying 'documentation' to add to the national collection (as well as the actual film and sound components which make up a production). This includes stills, posters, scripts, publicity materials, production papers, costumes, production artefacts and vintage equipment. Find out more in Recent Acquisitions.


• Following on from an item in Column 8 in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Archive made contact with Mike McGovern whose wife is the great grand-daughter of George Allan Hancock, a millionaire in the late 1920s who bought the Southern Cross plane for Charles Kingsford Smith, backed Kingsford Smith's flight and produced the film The Flight of the Southern Cross (1932). McGovern and his family had thought the film was lost and were delighted to discover that it is preserved in the national collection. Copies of this title were provided to the McGovern family and also to relations of other original Southern Cross team members.


• Read about the latest AFC-funded success stories including Lucky for Some, The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face and Violet Lives Upstairs.


• Are you looking for details of a particular Australian film title - feature, short, TV drama or documentary? The Searchable Film Database includes Australian and co-produced features, TV drama and documentaries from 1990 and shorts from 1998. It is now updated on the AFC website each month.


• Upcoming Production Report.


• Latest updates to Get the Picture Online industry statistics.

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• Canberra-based AFC Legal Officer Erin Driscoll has been appointed Chair of the Copyright in Cultural Institutions Group.


• Welcome to Intranet Co-ordinator Stacey Kernodle.


• Positions vacant.

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• Check out events in September and October at the Archive in Canberra.


• The Big Screen 2004 regional tour of Australian films heads to Hervey Bay and the Gold Coast (Qld) and Alice Springs (NT) in September.


• The Australian features The Crop, The Illustrated Family Doctor, Somersault and Tom White are being released September-October so keep an eye out for them at your local cinema.


• Acclaimed director Michael Apted, best known for the classic documentary series Seven-Up, and Stephen Merchant, co-writer and director of The Office, will feature at the ASDA Conference in Sydney, 3-5 September.


• Electrofringe is an electronic, digital and media arts festival dedicated to unearthing emergent forms, highlighting nascent trends and encouraging young and developing artists to explore technology and its creative possibilities. It's held in Newcastle, 30 September - 4 October.


• ReelDance International Dance on Screen Festival focuses on dance in everyday life. It is touring nationally until Wednesday 27 November.


• Digital Salon invites all digital media artists working or experimenting with interactive media, VJing, non-linear filmmaking, DVD, electronic music and projection arts to take part in their regular meetings, held the last Tuesday of each month in Sydney.


• IF magazine's What's On in Film July to December 2004 guide to screen events is sponsored by the AFC.


• Other AFC-supported activities and events.

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AFC Project Manager Julia Overton speaks to Rolf de Heer

Rolf de Heer is a filmmaker who has worked almost exclusively in the low-budget medium. His credits include Alexandra's Project (2002), The Tracker (2001), The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2000), Dance Me to My Song (1998), The Quiet Room (1996), Epsilon (1995), Bad Boy Bubby (1993), Dingo (1990), Incident at Raven's Gate (1987) and Tail of a Tiger (1980). Rolf lives and works in Adelaide.

How low is low?

RH: In the Australian context, I think low budget is under $2 million - maybe $2.5 million nowadays. It used to be under $1 million.

JO: What is the lowest-budget feature you have ever done?

RH: I think it was probably The Quiet Room: $590,000. Now it would probably cost about $800,000 or $900,000, doing it precisely the same way.

The right budget for the film - and the right film for the budget

JO: In your development processes are you conscious of trying to keep the budget down - not go above $2 million?

RH: It varies but I don't let the budget dictate absolutely what I am doing. With Alexandra's Project the starting point was to make something extremely low-budget - $200,000 or $300,000 - but I found in trying to write the script that I needed to set it up quite differently from what I expected. I needed not just two characters, but other characters beforehand, and different locations. It became a different film, but because its origins were so low-budget, it could still be made for a low budget.

Another example is Bad Boy Bubby. That had lots of characters and lots of locations, but the way I approached it was to ask myself 'what should all of this cost for what it is?' and then 'how can I make it for that?'.

Bad Boy Bubby is a perfect example of a script that could be made for $880,000, which is what it cost, but could also have been made in a more conventional way for $3 million - and at one point I was offered $3 million to do it. But for me it's about being set up in a way that's best for the film. It's not that I compromise; it's that I shift how I do it in order to achieve what I want for what I think is the correct budget for the film.

JO: How do you decide what the correct budget is?

RH: It's a combination of a lot of factors. It's to do with what can, in my view, give those who put in the money in a fair chance at a return. It's to do with the subject matter. It's to do with the style. It comes down to two things that I think are critical: one, what will the financing market sustain; and two, what is a reasonable budget for that film and its place in the world market.

Read the full interview.

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